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Dear all,
Again I bring news of the passing of another early pioneer of aikido. Jack Arnold 7th Dan Shihan, of Aikido Daiwa died peacefully at his home in the presence of his wife and his students. For many years Mr Arnold had been a major influence within Birankai North America. He was well loved and respected by all who knew him. His passing is indeed a sad loss to everyone. I send my condolences and a message of sympathy to Mr Arnold's wife and to his students. Another great man departs this mortal coil. With much respect , Joe.

Jack Arnold Shihan was first and foremost, an honorable man. His sense of loyalty, respect for others, and his deep compassion for his fellow humans, distinguished him apart from the many who would claim the mantle of a true leader. Quiet, unassuming, and more than willing to allow others to take the spotlight, he nonetheless played significant roles in the formation and progress of Ueshiba Aikido in Southern California and beyond. I am proud to call him friend.

My sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and the many associates he befriended throughout the decades of service to the cause of Aikido, and to humanity.

Guess Big Man upstairs needed a drummer. Well, he now has one of the very best.

Jack Arnold Shihan was first and foremost, an honorable man. His sense of loyalty, respect for others, and his deep compassion for his fellow humans, distinguished him apart from the many who would claim the mantle of a true leader. Quiet, unassuming, and more than willing to allow others to take the spotlight, he nonetheless played significant roles in the formation and progress of Ueshiba Aikido in Southern California and beyond. I am proud to call him friend.

My sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and the many associates he befriended throughout the decades of service to the cause of Aikido, and to humanity.

Guess Big Man upstairs needed a drummer. Well, he now has one of the very best.

May he rest in the Peace he so richly deserves.

Dear Takahashi Sensei,
i fully endorse you words regarding Mr Arnold.I was privileged to know him for well over thirty years.As you say he was a real gentleman.Not many people nowadays sad to say have the qualities
that Jack had. He was sincere, kind, caring , unassuming and as you say he did much to promote the art.In the wake of another recently deceased Shihan, Mark Murashige Sensei, I feel that fate has dealt each of us a bad hand. I personally feel a sense of tremendous loss of these two men.As you say , may each of them R.I.P.Joe

Thank you, Joe Curran Sensei, for your caring tributes to both Murashige Shihan and to Arnold Shihan. It is certainly timely to honor both mini giants of the Aikido world, if not only to exhort and encourage their respective mentees and students to now take up the cause they so painstakingly pioneered in their own fashion.

Let us all not grieve over long over our obvious losses, but rather rejoice in the fact that they existed to give us so much in terms of direction, example and vision. Let us also heed the clarion call to bring Morihei Ueshiba's legacy and vision of a Sliver Bridge for all mankind to even greater levels of achievements for all who train and persevere in Aiki.

This is the time for succeeding generations to come forth, stand up, and be counted among those who truly care and are determined to do their part in keeping Aikido alive and thriving for generations to come.

Thank you Joe, for reminding us all they we still remain a family, albeit a bit disjointed at present. The world of Universal Aiki is more than large enough to encompass us all. Gambarimashoo!

Thank you, Joe Curran Sensei, for your caring tributes to both Murashige Shihan and to Arnold Shihan. It is certainly timely to honor both mini giants of the Aikido world, if not only to exhort and encourage their respective mentees and students to now take up the cause they so painstakingly pioneered in their own fashion.

Let us all not grieve over long over our obvious losses, but rather rejoice in the fact that they existed to give us so much in terms of direction, example and vision. Let us also heed the clarion call to bring Morihei Ueshiba's legacy and vision of a Sliver Bridge for all mankind to even greater levels of achievements for all who train and persevere in Aiki.

This is the time for succeeding generations to come forth, stand up, and be counted among those who truly care and are determined to do their part in keeping Aikido alive and thriving for generations to come.

Thank you Joe, for reminding us all they we still remain a family, albeit a bit disjointed at present. The world of Universal Aiki is more than large enough to encompass us all. Gambarimashoo!

Dear Takahashi Sensei,
We do indeed live in a Aikido world which is fragmented. Perhaps this is normal? i can never understand why an art which purports to bring people together seems at times to operate in a manner which contradicts O Sensei's vision.Perhaps I am a bit of an idealist ? What attracted me to Aikido was the views of O Sensei in relation his world vision.I agree that it is time for the younger generation to carry forward the torch of Aikido , to nurture , develop and preserve the art .The fine teachers you mention Jack /Mark were outstanding aikidoka, with great talent. At the same time each of them were excellent examples of men who trained in BIG AIKIDO.Each of them were gentlemen, caring , honest and were not filled with a sense of self importance. Rather the opposite, each of them were lacking in ego , and always considered other's needs first, were modest and genuine.
They are both gone, but as far as I am concerned their work and legacy and my memories of them still inspire me .I echo your last statement.The world of Universal Aiki can indeed embrace all.
I hope all is well with you , I send you my best regards, Cheers, Joe.
Ps I liked especially your comment quote' Mini Giants'.An apt description of these two men.
Both were short on height /weight but giants nevertheless.

We do indeed live in a Aikido world which is fragmented. Perhaps this is normal? i can never understand why an art which purports to bring people together seems at times to operate in a manner which contradicts O Sensei's vision.Perhaps I am a bit of an idealist ?

Hi Joe,

You can't deny that there are some extremely divisive personalities in the aikido world. This is part of the problem, and my personal feeling is that this is very difficult to get around. On top of that, there are some excellent teachers who are very poor managers of people.

On the other hand, some of the old-timers are (or were) people with high personal integrity, and seem to have had the rare gift of being able to build bridges. I understand that the late Kisaburo Osawa was a prime example of the latter.

You can't deny that there are some extremely divisive personalities in the aikido world. This is part of the problem, and my personal feeling is that this is very difficult to get around. On top of that, there are some excellent teachers who are very poor managers of people.

On the other hand, some of the old-timers are (or were) people with high personal integrity, and seem to have had the rare gift of being able to build bridges. I understand that the late Kisaburo Osawa was a prime example of the latter.

Alex

Alex,
I have personally had my own share of top class instructors who either had divisive personalities or were useless at man management.Some others imo got bigheaded and lacked respect for their sempai.It seems to me that a lot of people want to be BIG CHIEFS.This is why I mentioned in an earlier comment I admired Murashige /Jack Arnold Sensei.Until we as teachers realise we are not masters, but servants to our respective students and we owe a debt of gratitude to everyone we have met during our own journey we will just repeat the same errors over again.
In the U.K for example, from 1966-till today , you see little evidence of fraternal , welcoming , open door policies existing between groups.Cheers, Joe.